First Impressions of Ethiopia - You, you, you - 13 March 2002
Hello Ethiopia
We have met some nice South Africans
Entering Ethiopia at Metema was just as easy, if not easier. The very nice man at the passport office found us someone who could (illegally) change cash for us and even pointed us to the nearest purveyor of cold beer - oh, bliss. Customs was just as easy, but not quite as conclusive. The search of our vehicles consisted of the obligatory squeeze of Stevie's teddy bear - and that's all. We were informed that we'd have to get our carnets cleared at the main customs office at Shehedi -40 km down the road. By this time, it was getting on and we decided to bush camp and sort the other stuff in the morning.
There was a real change of feel entering this country, the women were no longer covered from head to toe and the 'you, you, you' began from the kids. I thought it was rather sweet that the immigration office was a little thatched mud hut down a dirt back street. The people had a disconcerting way of speaking where they breathe in at the end of a sentence as if in surprise. This tends to make you feel like everything you say is a shock to them. On the way to change the money, a lady beckoned me over. But I was in a rush to get back to the others so I declined the offer, the next thing I know she has run up behind me and has pulled my ponytail playfully to gain attention. Clearly the women here like to have a little fun.
Leaving Metema, we blundered into a group of cyclists that we had last seen in Khartoum about a week before. We camped together on the dried earth of Ethiopia. It was wild stuff - huge deep cracks in the ground that you could hear stuff fall down. Hippies shopping from earlier turned out to be 2 kg of prime beef and all the necessary for a stew supper - nice.
The following morning, the cyclists set off at the crack of dawn and we caught them up after about 25 km.. It must be so soul-destroying to travel by bike when its hot and hard. I can appreciate the huge satisfaction they'll get when they reach South Africa, but I'm afraid it's not for me!
Paperwork at Shehedi was destined to take ages and so we set the stove up on the Customs steps and brewed up us tea. It always causes great interest as the petrol stove kicks in and blasts the water to boiling point. You can probably tell that we are settling in to an expectation that these things can take a while and we may as well relax and make a little tea rather than get stressed out by it The poor official inside sweated his way through our forms and bemoaned that this is the hottest part of Ethiopia. He was charming, to be fair and only parted us from one dollar each. All in all, the easiest, cheapest and one of the fastest border crossings since the EU.
Whilst Pat was doing the official stuff I was making brekky in Stevie's van.
We had been lulled into a false sense of security by the newly constructed road up to the border on the Sudan side and we now hit dusty stony ruts with gusto. Slowing down for these brought back Scully's overheating problems and so frequent breaks were called for. I got very nervous on the deep dusty bits and after a point, handling the bike was so difficult, I had to get Hippy to go in with Stevie.
We have met some nice South Africans
We bumped into some charming South Africans, Thomas and Bridget, who had been up the East of Ethiopia, across Djibouti and Eritrea and a loop of Sudan before setting off south again.
After a lovely tea break, with the all above at the road side chewing the fat and waiting for Scully's bike to cool down. Half an hour later the bike overheated again and a forced break meant that the ever-present Hot Rock truck had the chance of catching us up. It's amazing how this is now becoming quite a social event. Despite this being a dirt track it is the main highway from Khartoum to Addis Abbaba so it's impossible to avoid bumping into other overlanders. We set off with the intention of making it to the wee town of Aykel.
The road and Scully's temperamental bike and the now Pat's dodgy steering meant that we were forced to stop at about four. The bodged steering locknut from Luxor was now clearly not up to the punishment of these roads and instead of nice smooth steering Pat had the choice of straight on, sharp left or right. Whereupon Tom an Bridgette found the perfect camping area.
It was kismet and we could all do with a rest. Pat stripped the steering down and Scully dismantled his entire bike while Stevie and I did the domestics. Thomas and Bridgette really are the loveliest couple and I have to say that we have met two nice South Africans. They were heading to Gonder on their way back down Africa. It is so nice talking with other travellers who all have the same experiences of feeling that their life in their home country was far too much of a rat race. People working all the hours that God sends to earn more money to get a bigger mortgage, build the extension, buy the new hi-fi then they need to earn more and work longer hours. Somehow it seems that people have lost the point of life. [No doubt the true "point of life" will be revealed to us in a later chapter. Webmaster] In England people probably thought our lack of ambition and need for new belongings irrational here amongst a multitude of travellers we are very normal.
Unfortunately it was not just a social visit. They had been asked by SA Landrover club to help with a rather sensitive problem. A SA family had been travelling at night from Gonder to Bahir Dar and had disturbed a robbery in progress. The robbers had panicked and shot the father of the family, the poor wife then had the gruesome task of driving the car, sharing the driving seat with her dead husband, until she reached Gonder with two hysterical children in the back. Thomas and Bridgette were asked: a) to assess the damage b) clean it up so that it will not be as distressing for the relatives and c) try to unravel the, now tangled, web of paperwork associated with exporting a vehicle that had been imported by someone who is now no longer with us.
For the remainder of the daylight we worked on the bikes. I managed to loose off the steering head, but knew that it would tighten by itself and need regular adjustment. It was obvious, too, that the bearings were now ridged and that I would need to get replacements. Parts that should have arrived in Luxor should hopefully be arriving in Addis, but I now need the extra ones. Typical.
Over night the temperature was at last pleasantly cooler than we had had for some time. Now at 1500 metres, it was nice to get a decent nights kip. Worryingly, on the other side of the mountain, there was thunder and lightning. It stayed there, though, and there was no sign of rain on our patch.